Two Gems
by ia178
Summary: A lost wild child like Marie finds herself in the eyes of young vet like Drew...
1. Chapter 1

The door opened and a tall, well-built man made his way in.

"Drew… Vince wanted to see you right now. He's in his office." A deep, English accent echoed in the ambience of the small locker room.

Drew took off his cowboy hat, placed it down on the small table beside his thigh, and lifted his head to see one of his best mates, Wade. "He say what it's about?"

"No. Went in to have a look at my schedule for next week... We still on for drinks tonight?" Wade asked while digging into his luggage for a clean towel.

"Aye. Make sure Sheamus knows. Fella's been talking about pints day and night." Drew chuckled to himself while getting to his feet. He then exited the locker room.

He turned the corner, continued down the hall, but stopped at a shiny surface that provided a clear reflection of him. Since he was fifteen years old, he always imagined the days he'd be a part of the WWE. What he didn't envision was himself roaming backstage in leather pants, sun glasses, and a bandana tied around his forehead. Creative had him working a "rocker" gimmick along with Slater and Mahal. He didn't mind working with the two. He recognized passion for this business was the same for them as it was for him. It was just the gimmick itself that was falling flat for some fans.

He was a heavy hitter. He was sinister. His eyes were piercing. He was a "grizzled young vet." These were what the fans were accustomed to when it came to Drew. Despite the confusion around the new gimmick, Drew was making the most out of it. He was, indeed, a huge GNR fan. He figured why not channel Axl Rose. He dressed up as Axl once in high school.

"Drew?" He recognized the lady's voice. "Drew? Is that you?" Her English accent, just as strong as Wade's, was approaching him closer by the second. He turned around to greet Luna. Luna was Wade's wife. She was petite but feisty and managed to keep Wade, as "alpha-male" as he was, on his toes.

"Hey Lu." Drew let out as he exchanged a hug with the lovely Brit. She wasn't alone. Beside her stood a caramel-complected curvaceous young lady whose eyes avoided him.

"This is Marie. She's a talented artist. She's helping me out with my galleria." Luna stepped away as Drew lent out his hand to this beautiful stranger.

"Hi. I'm Drew." Marie took his hand and shook it, still avoiding eye contact. She tried to focus on his forehead. The oldest trick in the book but she wasn't fooling anyone. Drew started to think there was something on his forehead. He ran his free hand over his forehead to make sure nothing was actually there. "Very nice to meet you, Marie."

She smiled softly and replied, "Nice to meet you too, Drew." She always found herself shying away from strangers. It was her nature. She dreaded meeting people. She dreaded being in public places. They were "infested" with people. She was an introvert; little short of being anti-social. His Scottish accent didn't help her one bit. She was a sucker for foreign guys.

"I've got to get going now. I'll see you gals later." Drew slowly let Marie's hand slip out of his warm grasp. He turned on his heels and walked away.

Marie couldn't help but take in the glorious sight leaving her. He was her ideal man but she wouldn't let that be known off the bat. Though her eyes hadn't met his, she felt captured.

She was known by her closest friends for the raunchy, sex-driven jokes and innuendos. She wore "cheeky" very well and that's exactly what kindled Luna and hers friendship, aside from their love of art. Those who knew Marie well knew she was a fireball. They could see past her guarded posterior. She was much more than the timid girl she'd be recognized as in an initial meeting.

She was a "world-war waiting to happen" if provoked. At the same time, she was the sweetest girl ever. Maybe it was the Gemini in her. She was the good, the bad, and the ugly. She'd stress the ugly part. It was a coping mechanism. She found it easier to critique herself than to ever let another person bring her down. The majority of the time, she preferred to lay low instead of aim high. Maybe it was insecurities. Maybe it was her conscience looking out for her. She didn't know what it was but she felt a change coming.

"I need my coffee! I can't function!" Luna dragged Marie's arm towards the catering room, waking Marie up from the trance Drew left her in.


	2. Chapter 2

"Marie? Open up! You've been in there long enough. It's only one dress!" Luana's banging on the door came to a halt as soon as the door knob started to twist. Out came Marie, in a simple black dress that cherished her hour glass figure. Mid-thigh to her feet, her cocoa skin exposed. Luana thought it appropriate to toss some bright yellow pumps along with it.

Marie slipped her feet into the pumps. "It's only one dress with these 'to-the-moon-and-back' stilts you have me in." Marie stumbled across Luana. It was clear Marie wasn't used to wearing heels so high but because she saw the vision Luana had in mind, she thought to herself, "Fuck it. Why not look good at a bar? This is your first time on the East Coast."

Too polished wasn't her style so she left her hair in a loosened bun. She picked up her red blazer and threw it on. On the back of it was a gold spray-painted stenciled image of one her favourite artist, Frida Kahlo.  
Luana couldn't help but laugh at the contrast of hers & Marie's styles. Surprisingly, the clash actually worked well side by side.

She stood in front of the mirror, putting her jade-coated earrings on. Those pretty things were a birthday gift from Wade, and went lovely with her ivory, off-one-shoulder top, khaki shorts, & black laced with golden flowers stilettos from Alexander McQueen's fall/winter 2010 collection.

Marie's ears weren't pierced but her button lip was. She decided to put her ring in. Stepping back & taking in the complete picture of the two, Marie glanced over to Luana and asked, "You think we're over-dressed?" The English woman burst into laughter but was silenced by a text. It was Wade. "You gals coming thru or what? We're at the pub."

"Wade's just checking if we're still coming. Our taxi should be here soon." The two girls made their way down. They've spent much of the day in the studio, rearranging the pieces to Luana's collection.

In the taxi, Luana told Marie about the groupies she'd fended off while on tour with the boys. Marie knew it would be difficult to try and maintain a relationship on the road, which is the main reason she never ventured off into the possibilities of actually having a relationship. These stories only confirmed the difficulties.

She was young. She was an artist. She was in search of her mission. She had no clue what her mission in life was but she knew that when she found it, she couldn't afford to be distracted by anything; love was not an exception.  
"How much is it?" Marie hopped out the taxi while Luana pulled out the money for the driver. The ladies then, arm in arm, strutted into the pub. Marie let her eyes wonder. Much to her surprise, their attire seemed to fit perfectly.

Luana had led them straight to the bar, which is where Wade, Sheamus, and Drew stood, conversing while finishing up the drinks they had.

"How long were you guys over here for?" Luana asked, walking over to her husband. Marie turned her head away as the couple kissed. She continued scanning the room, scoping out the scenery when all of a sudden, a voice broke her out of the daze.

"Lass, don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting yeh. I'm Sheamus." Her eyes fell upon a massive hand that was extended to her. As she connected her hand to it, her eyes trailed up the arm & met a large man with a sallow complexion and orange hair tucked underneath a black flat cap. His smile was bright and refreshing enough to make Marie forget about how pale he was. "Oh… I'm Marie."

"She's an amazing artist. She's here for the weekend to help me out in the studio." Luana butted in.

Sheamus pulled up a stool right between him and Drew for Marie to sit. As she was taking a seat, Wade's base boomed in, "I heard this is your first time on the East Coast. How do you like it?" She responded with, "It's way different. People move at a faster pace out here. But I like it."

The bartender placed a Stella, a 007, and a Guinness on the counter. Sheamus passed the Stella and 007 to the married couple then took a gulp of his Guinness.

Drew turned to the bartender & asked for another glass of Jack then turned over to Marie. "What'll you be drinking?" She wasn't familiar with drinks so she said the first thing that came to mind. "I'll have some Jack too." Drew seemed taken aback by her choice.

"How old are yeh anyways?" Sheamus interrupted. "I'm 24 but I'm turning 25 next month." "See, Drew! The lass is old enough to drink." He laughed. Drew flashed a shy smile that made Marie's tummy fill up with warm and fuzzies.

Drew turned back to the bartender, "Can you make that two Jacks?" The bartender nodded and quickly placed two glasses of whiskey on the counter. "Thanks." Drew picked one glass up to hand it to Marie. As he leaned towards her, his lips softly brushed against her ear lobe. "I wasn't worried about your age. I didn't quite catch what you had said."

Drew attempted to clarify his hesitation & found himself lying a tad bit in the process. He heard loud and clear what Marie asked for but it was true that Drew wasn't worried about Marie's age. He just wondered what this girl was up to ordering whiskey.

A rush overwhelmed Marie, having his breath graze her skin ever so slightly. When she glanced down at her lap, she noticed her legs were uncrossed, positioned as they would be if she were wearing sweatpants. She quickly crossed her legs to appear more lady-like. Inside, she was damning her tom-boyish nature that seemed to creep to the surface from time to time.

After more rounds of drinks, "Bob's Yer Uncle" by Happy Mondays blasted through the speakers, causing Luana to grab the hands of her drunken husband and lead him to the dance floor. Wade couldn't stop. He was feeling the effects of the substance and followed his wife willingly.

"Poor Lu! She has to make Wade look like he's got rhythm!" Sheamus took joy in playfully bashing the married couple, mainly Wade. As he finished off the Guinness in his left hand, two blonde bombshells sandwiched him, whispered in his ears, tugging at his clothing; they managed to get the massive Irishman on his feet and away from the bar.

Drew's eyes examined Marie while she was busy giggling at the sight of a giddy Sheamus being pulled off into the distance by two pretty blondes. Her smile, glowing. Her brown skin, radiant. Her full lips, lower one pierced. He noticed her glass of whiskey was nearly finished. "You up for another one?" Marie looked back at him; eyelids lowered from what she had already consumed, and moved her head from side to side.

"Uhhh, I really shouldn't… I gotta get up early tomorrow to sort out some things." He smiled at her then swigged the last of the whiskey that sat in the bottom of his cup.

Distant at first, the two eventually, as a couple more hours passed, with Marie continuing the drinking with Drew, got close. Drew told Marie about his upbringing in Scotland and how he got into pro-wrestling and Marie told him about her dreams of having her art in some sort of museum.

Marie could feel his leg pressed against hers but she couldn't tell if she was the cause of it. She didn't mind the feeling at all.

There's cologne that makes you want to punch a man in his throat to watch him choke and then there's cologne that makes you want to marry a man. Fortunately, for her, Drew wore the second. Yes, it was mixed with whiskey fumes but she didn't mind any of the feelings that were conjuring up within.

All of a sudden, she heard a crackle, looked down to see her phone had slipped out of her clutch, onto the floor. Before she could go for it, Drew bent himself over her lap to try and grab it for her.

"Fella, what is going on here?" Drew sat back up and handed the phone to Marie. Standing in front of them was Sheamus and the two blondes from earlier, one beneath each arm. "Was I interrupting something?" Sheamus, as drunk as he was, still managed to get to poking people.

Before Marie and Drew could think of something to say, Sheamus switched gears. "Alright, Drew. I'm taking these lasses back to the room. You can come and watch or sleep in the car tonight." Sheamus, chuckling to himself, made his way out of the pub with the blondes. He knew Drew would find a place to crash. They'd do that to each other. Whoever was getting some got the room. Whoever wasn't had to find another place to post.

While Marie was checking her phone, she saw she had a missed call & an unread message. Both were from Luana."Wade and I are calling it a night. Drew said he'll take you the hotel. See you tomorrow, dear."

She watched as Drew downed the last of his Jack. "Um, Drew… I'm calling a cab right now."

"Alright." Drew went up to the counter to pay the tab while Marie called a cab. He came back as soon as she'd gotten off the phone. They looked around the place. It dawned on them that they were the last two. They then walked side by side out of the pub.


	3. Chapter 3

Marie slid the card. As the door opened, she walked into the room. Drew hesitated at the door frame. He drank so much at the bar; Marie was surprised that he was walking, on his own, without trouble.

"You can stay here tonight." Drew stood there, not phased, ready to turn around to make his exit. Marie walked over, grabbed Drew's hands, and pulled him gently into the room, only to close the door behind her shut. "I really can't have you walking around at this hour."

Marie took her blazer off, perched it over the arm of the couch, and looked at Drew, who stood still, not quite sure where to sit or even what to do. "You must be tired… You can take the bed." Marie went to the fridge to pull out two water bottles. "Naw, it's okay. I can take the couch. I'm used…"

Drew was cut off by Marie, who approached him with the bottles of water.

"Here, drink some water then rest on the bed. It'd be better for your back… I'm going to go shower… Oh, and thanks for bringing me home." She smiled as Drew's attention went from the water bottles occupying his hands to her face. He gave a reassuring smile which was all she needed to lay off the man.

Marie entered the bedroom to grab a towel, a panty, a bra, sweats, a sweater, and some socks. It was a long night out and all she wanted now was to be clean, comfy, and asleep in cushions.

She locked the bathroom door and turned on the shower faucet to let the hot water run. She took out her lip ring and began to undress. First came off her skin tight dress. Next were her undergarments. She then let her hair down and stepped into the steamy shower.

As she allowed her skin to be beaten by the heated drops of water, she lathered up soap to cleanse her flesh. She closed her eyes for a moment and was confronted by an image of Drew; replaying the times he smiled, laughed, drank, listened, the scent of his cologne and the sensation she felt whenever her flesh met his, in her head.

She couldn't escape the feelings conjuring inside. It seemed that Drew permeated her senses like nothing she's ever experienced.

Her hands left her sides and started caressing her belly. Her left hand traveled upwards to stop at her breast. She lightly groped then twisted the nipple. Her right hand found its way between her thighs. Her fingers began exploring her own delicacy. As she petted her petals and dove into and out of her fold, the heat of the water washed over the silk she was producing.

The warmness reminded her of the warmness of Drew's hands. She started to imagine her hands were Drew's. The motions of her hands paired with her thoughts of the man who lay in the room next door sent her into overdrive. Left hand twisted her other nipple, probing her into a low, dragged out moan and some more heavy breathing. The in and out motion of her fingers increased speed.

A sudden rush overwhelmed her. Marie tossed her head back then leaned up against the tile wall. She released. She was spent.

Marie took a breather then washed herself down with soap. Rinsed completely, Marie shut off the water and wiped her body dry. Stepping out of the shower, she got dressed and hung her towel on the door rack.

She walked out into the living room to see Drew sitting up but asleep on the couch. Chuckling to herself, Marie made her way to the sleeping man thinking to herself, "I told him to sleep on the bed. Does he not listen?"

She lifted one of his legs at a time, placing them onto the couch so that he lay properly. She went to the bedroom for a blanket to cover him with. He lay there, sleeping, unaware that above him stared a young girl examining him.

Drew moved slightly, adjusting his position. Marie decided that was enough looking for the night. She made her way back to the bedroom.

Drew's eyes opened slightly to take in a curvaceous silhouette moving towards a background of lights which was the other room. He shut his eyes just as she shut off the lights in the bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

"Fuck!" Marie jolted up. She knew she had overslept and she was supposed to meet Luana at ten. She picked up her celly to check the time. She had thirty minutes to get herself to the studio. As she rose to her feet, it dawned on her that Drew had spent the night.

She peeked into the living room to see a neatly folder blanket on the couch she last saw Drew laying on; No Drew. Maybe he left early for the gym. She slipped her sweater off her back and tossed it on her bed.

"Nice of him to fold the blanket." she thought to herself as she made her way over to the couch to retrieve the blanket. Just as she had the piled up cotton in her arms, a nervous cough of a man shot her frozen.

"Oh... em… Sorry. I was… I didn't wanna wake ya up. I made some tea… and-"

She slowly turned following the sound. It led her to the corner of the room where Drew was sitting at the table, head deep in his iPhone, trying to explain to her why he was there. Her embarrassment drowned out everything Drew fumbled out, with the exception of 'croissant.'

"I thought you left. Sorry Drew. Lemme go put a shirt on." She turned with the blanket held very close to her chest. She rushed off into the bedroom to throw on her sweater.

"You don't have to." Drew stood up from his seat, put his iPhone into his pocket, and picked up his cup of tea. "I mean, I'm leaving. I didn't want to wake you up so I waited. Luana said the studio owner can't make it today and asked me to relay that to you."

Luana rushed back into the living room. Drew's eyes met her as he was now standing at the door.

"Ah, Drew. You should've just written a note or something. I could've been out for longer. I'm a bear when it comes to sleep." She let out a little laugh to try and forget that he had nearly seen her 'yay-yays' not too long ago.

Drew flashed his dimples and chuckled. "Ah, no worries. Your croissant is in the microwave and your tea's on the table but I reckon its gone cold." He turned the knob and shot another smile at Luana. "I'll see ya later."

"Yeah. See you later. Thanks again for bringing me home… And the croissant… I really like croissants…" Marie was trying to think of everything else she should have thanked him for.

Drew let out a warm laugh as he opened the door. "Really no worries, lass. I'll see ya later, yeah?"

"Yeah." Marie stood there looking at the door with a goofy smile for a minute after Drew had closed it shut. She wanted to kick herself for being too awkward. "Really? 'I like croissants?'" She shook her head while heading for a quick shower.


	5. Chapter 5

"Yay or nay?" Luana summoned Marie's attention. "We can go with the red frames but would that clash with the colours of the walls?" Marie grabbed a red frame from the floor and held it up against the turquoise wall. After a minute and a half, she finally let out, "No. It will pop perfectly. The paintings you've collected are all yellow. The colours will work well with them."

"I agree whole-heartily." Wade walked in and grabbed Luana by her hips. He nipped at his wife's ear. He turned his head in Marie's direction. "Hey, Marie."

"Hi Wade." She placed the red frame back where she had picked it up from and walked over to the coffee table to grab her tote bag. "Alright, you guys. I'm headed out; Long day tomorrow. Finally we'll get this galleria opened up. Rest well."

The couple smiled as she walked out of the room. As she turned the corner, she heard Luana. "What the fuck? I don't want you hanging around that skank!" Marie stopped to where she was far enough to not be heard but close enough to hear the exchange.

"Alicia is just a coworker! I don't know what you're on about, lady! It's a bloody picture on the internet!"

"Are you fucking her?"

"What the fuck, lady?! How many times do I have to defend myself?!"

Marie decided that was enough for her ears. She exited the studio and flagged down a cab to take her to her spot. On the ride home, she wondered how a relationship that has lasted as long as Luana's and Wade's be in this condition.

For the past weeks, she has been noticing the couple struggling to keep civilized. They worked hard to seem unified when in public, but Marie had been spent a lot of time with them for preparations of Luana's galleria to see what was broiling underneath.

When Marie entered her little cozy apartment, she figured she'd pick out her outfit for tomorrow night. It was going to be the opening of Luana's galleria and Luana had invited all sorts of people. Once Marie decided on her outfit for the opening, she hopped into bed and drifted to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Marie sipped on her champagne observing the strangers that were admiring the art showcased. She was seated alone. In the corner of her eye, she recognised Wade downing whatever substance was in his cup. He seemed heated, fixated on whatever was in the opposite direction of him.

She turned her head to see what he was looking at. Luana was practically draped over the shoulder of some man in a suit. She was laughing too hysterical for Marie to even bare. If she was annoyed by Luana's behaviour, she could only imagine how Wade felt. Marie walked over to Luana. She had to turn her clit-block mode on.

"There you are, Lu!" Marie squeezed her thick frame in between the pair. Luana stopped laughing and scanned Marie from heels to head. Marie approaching a guy was out of the ordinary but she knew she had to for the sake of her friend's relationship.

"Hi there. I'm Marie… You?" She extended her hand to the man.

"I'm John."

"Oh!" Marie started snapping her fingers as if his answer triggered something. "Cena! I knew that mug looked familiar. How do you like the collection?" Luana got up from the little bench as the two dove directly into a discussion. Marie took note of John's eyes following Luana's motions as she walked away.

"How do you know Luana?" Marie called over a nearby waiter to get her glass, as well as John's, filled.

"She's on the road with us a lot." John's Boston accent started seeping to the surface. "I'm happy she's done something for herself now. She's always behind Wade. I think it's good she found something she wants…"

Everything else after that faded to the background as she saw Luana head back to Wade.

"Wild is the wind… Wild is the wind..." Bowie broke into Marie's head.

She nearly forgot John had still been talking. The words he was producing were muffled. She had no clue of what he was saying.

"Love me, love me, love me. Say you do. Let me fly away with you."

She was thinking who the DJ was and damning him for playing Bowie while she had liquor in her. Marie couldn't help her body from slowly swaying side to side along to the track.

"I guess after my wife and I separated…" Marie was tuning back into John's life story. She vowed this to be the last time she'd ever ask someone how they knew someone else. She secretly hoped he'd just shut the fuck up.

"What? Where' the Tullamore Dew, fella?" Marie recognised that Irishman's voice and the other voice that followed it.

"Is there any meat? Any chicken? What are these?" Drew was picking at the platter of hors d'oeuvres. "It's like rabbit food."

John was still blabbering about his life mission but stopped as soon as Sheamus and Drew walked over. Marie's face lit up and she gathered herself up to greet the two Celts.

Sheamus went into bear hug her. His strong arms wrapped around her and she couldn't help but laugh. "It's good to see yeh, lass." He looked over to John and let out a, "Oi. How are yeh, Cena?" The two fellows started off to their own conversation, which left Marie with Drew. The last time she saw Drew, he nearly saw her goodies and he bought her a croissant.

"Nice to see you again." Drew's arms enveloped Marie and she closed her eyes, greeting him with to match his embrace.

"It's very nice to see you too." They both sat down on the bench. Marie flagged down a waiter with the hors d'oeuvres Drew was critiquing. She picked one of them up and offered it to Drew.

"Erm, no thanks."

"C'mon, Drew."

"What is it even?"

"It's… well, I really don't know what it is."

Drew looked at Marie rather amused by her bluntness.

"Don't turn your nose up at this, Drew. I'm sure this green stuff is cilantro. It's good!" Marie was practically shoving it in his face. Drew kept turning his head but determined to have her way, Marie grabbed the side of his face still and brought the edible piece to his lips. He gave in and took it in.  
She waited for his conclusion. "It's good, yeah?"

"Awww, that's cute!" Wade loomed over the two of them with a smirk. "But you forgot to make the airplane noises for him, Marie."

"Shut up, you ass." Drew recovered, finishing off his glass of champagne.

"Go get Sheamus. We're leaving."

Marie was surprised but acted as if she wasn't present. She couldn't spot Luana and she assumed Wade's urgent want to leave was due to a disagreement between them earlier.

Drew rose to his feet, "We just got here."

"No. You just got here and now we're leaving."

Sheamus was heading over with two glasses, taking sips from both. "Pretty cool layout you came up with, Marie. Never been to an art show before. Isn't bad. Isn't bad at all."

"Alright, Irish. We're leaving." Wade took both glasses from Sheamus. He set them on the nearest table.

"Already, Fella?"

Wade moved towards Marie while he was putting on his pea-coat. "Thanks for helping Luana with this. I know it means a lot to her. And it's obviously a success. Congrats. Enjoy the rest of the night." He smiled and made his way through the lumps of people who were still looking around.

"Ok, lass. We'll see you later then. Great job!" Sheamus hugged her before following Wade.

Marie noticed a bit of food on Drew's chin so she started to nip it away gently with her fingers. "Thanks for showing up."

"Ahh, no worries. Wish I could stay longer... The boys…"

Marie smiled to reassure him she understood. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her in close. She started feeling the same feelings she felt that night at the bar. When his arms locked around her, he pressed his lips to her ear. "I'll see you later."

When he pulled away, she snapped out of the trance she was barely treading in. Drew went away to the exit but stopped to get two more hors d'oeuvres and waved them back at her with a cheek to cheek grin.

She chuckled to herself and went to get her glass of champagne. She sat back down and resumed to observe people reacting to the pieces of art displayed. After some odd minutes, she got up to use the restroom. As she turned into the hallway, she saw two people snuggled up with each other. At first, she ignored the couple but then their voices rang in her ears, familiars. She peeked again and saw that it was Luana and John kissing.


End file.
